The router began as a port of FreeRouting and has grown its own engine
(negotiated congestion, tree nets, exact checks, axis escapes), and
'freeroute' was one letter from the project it no longer follows. The
package, module and command are now rpmroute; the freeroute command stays
as an alias, and the RPMROUTE / RPMROUTE_ORACLE_JAVA variables fall back
to the old FREEROUTE names. Version 2026.10.07. Routing is unchanged: a
PCBench board routes to a byte-identical session either way.
Adds route/exact_router.py: routes with the grid track's rip-up/multi-layer/
via topology search in orthogonal mode (axis-aligned segments -> exact IntBox
copper), then verifies clearance exactly against a ShapeSearchTree. A net
whose copper would come closer than the clearance to any accepted item is
dropped, so the emitted geometry is DRC-clean by construction; endpoints stay
exactly on pads and vias at real layer transitions.
GridRouter gains a non-breaking orthogonal option (4-connected). The pipeline
gains an engine= selector: 'grid' (default, unchanged, highest coverage) or
'exact' (DRC-verified). The grid MVP stays the fallback.
On the designed boards the exact track routes every net DRC-clean; on the
real KiCad board it matches the grid's connectivity (4/4 multi-pin nets) and
is DRC-clean where the grid MVP's widened centrelines are not. Deferred:
shove, and 45-degree/IntOctagon trace caps.
Tests: the exact router's output has no clearance violation (exact IntBox
check) on every fixture; endpoints on pads; traces orthogonal; crossing uses
a via; and a direct comparison showing the exact track is clean where the
grid MVP violates on the real board. Oracle-gated parity for engine='exact'.
rsp2k